Countdown
by Caitriona3
Summary: Sequel to Alphabet Soup. It's a journey to reach the big day! Join Darcy, Phil, and the whole family on the trip.
1. 10 - It Begins

_Author's Note – Well, here is the first chapter for Alphabet Soup's sequel! This takes place between Alphabet Soup & Announcement. I still own nothing you recognize from anything official. Enjoy!_

"We do need to determine a date," Phil commented as he clipped two wires. "One yellow, three greens, and two red left."

"June is out," Darcy noted, her fingers flying over the keyboard in front of her. "Way too cliché for us."

"April or May perhaps?"

"Hmm, I like the idea of spring," she hummed for a moment and let her fingers rest. A message popped up on her computer. "Tony says to cut the middle yellow, right red, and then the green…and he's pretty emphatic about cutting them in that order." She began typing once more.

He wielded his wire cutters again and watched in quiet satisfaction as the electric timer blinked and went blank. "Done," he informed her. Tucking the tool into his jacket pocket, he rose to his feet and moved to stand beside her. "What are you doing?"

"Reminding Tasha we need the flash drive more than we need another rescuer," she replied.

"She wouldn't make it in time," he pointed out. "Boston-"

"She's not in Boston," Darcy interrupted. "Her target packed the whole party onto a private plane and flew them into the city for a Knicks game." One of his eyebrows rose in question and she shrugged. "Apparently he's a big fan of the Miami Heat."

"Not the Celtics?"

"Too Irish for him." Darcy shook her head. "Something seriously wrong with that man…beyond the whole bad guy thing."

Phil just nodded, apparently deciding to let that one slide. "Did she have anything else to report?"

"Only that her next assignment needs to be a scientist or something requiring some kind of intelligence," she laughed. "I think Tasha's tired of playing the brainless beauty."

"What about the rest of the team?"

"They should reach us in the next ten minutes or so." Her eyes came up to sparkle at him over the edge of her laptop. "Tony can't decide whether to be impressed or disturbed by the sheer number, not to mention variety, of curses Clint can go through without ever repeating himself." Phil blinked and she giggled. "He couldn't keep up and got JARVIS to keep track."

He took a deep breath. "At least his distraction should keep him out of trouble for the time it takes them to reach us." Another breath. "April or May?"

"Spring is definitely a good idea," she nodded before turning a pointed look on him. "Anyway, I thought you were the one who wanted a long engagement? Spring is just around the corner."

"I rather meant next…" He trailed off as her eyes darkened. The corner of his mouth twitched. "Darcy-"

"I know," she broke in. "I know there's target this and danger that and a whole blend of what-if's to highlight the issue, but I kind of figure security's going to be an issue no matter when we do this." Her green gaze trapped him. "Phil…I'm going to be a target and in danger no matter what. Open any blog about the team and I'm on there somewhere. There are pictures of me with pretty much everybody, including the other 'support staff'," she continued, using finger quotes to denote the nickname that the media had given to all of the non-heroes involved with the Avengers. Her lips quirked as she remembered Jane's ranting over the term. Pepper just shrugged and Betty seemed startled to be mentioned at all.

Phil sighed, "Yes, but-"

"But nothing," she interrupted once more. "I've been threatened by some low-life Russian Mafioso type because of Tasha, Loki is always a potential issue, and some loony want-to-be Nazi throwback tried to grab me off the street because of Steve. Tony's competitors keep lurking around, General Imbecile Ross likes to shout at me and I've gotten threatening letters from Barney Barton." His eyes narrowed and she just rolled hers. "Oh, please, if I wait for you guys to tell me everything, I might as well put on rose-colored contacts permanently. Yes, I know about the screened mail. And no," she shook her head, "I'm not telling you my sources." Darcy had learned a great many skills over the years, and her time with SHIELD and the team had taught her many more, but none as valuable as those she learned at her mother's knee. One of Maire Lewis' best lessons? Always have a hidden ace in the shape of a woman on the inside up your sleeve…and Darcy had one doozy of an ace in Maria Hill.

Thank goodness for a shared love of rum and historical dramas.

"I don't like it."

Phil's quiet admission brought a soft smile to her face. "I know," she said, her voice turning gentle, "I really get it. It's not like I'm terrifically fond of all the assignments and heroics when I have to worry about the phone calls or what I'll see on television when the reporters are dogging the team." Reaching out, she touched his arm. "It's just what we've got to deal with, and I don't want to wait for the 'right' time. It'll never be the 'right' time"

He nodded and then pulled her into his arms. They wrapped around her, fierce and protective, as though he wanted to guard her against any and all comers. She leaned into him, closing her eyes and relaxing as his heart beat strong and sure under her ear. He rested his chin on top of her head. Silence stretched out for several long moments before he spoke. "April or May?"

"May," she decided with a quick grin. "We'll go with May flowers over the April showers thing."

A rough chuckle escaped him and he pulled back, tilting her chin up with two fingers. He began to lean down and she lifted up slightly, prepared to meet his kiss, ignoring the sudden sounds behind her as metal scraped on metal.

"Seriously?" Clint's voice echoed in the space. They looked around to find the men of the team staring at them with a mixture of emotions ranging from amusement to surprise to exasperation.

"Is there a problem, Agent Barton?" Phil's face shifted slightly as his 'agent' mask slipped into place.

"Don't 'Agent Barton' me," Clint pointed at him, obviously repressing laughter. "I don't even know why I'm surprised. You two get locked in an underground vault with a bomb meant to level the building by a half crazed idiot who not only leaves a Stark Industries computer behind that lets you communicate with us, but then he can't remember the combination when we capture him. Stark has to talk you through disarming the bomb via text while the rest of us have to break the code to get in because the damn thing's made of adamantium and Wolverine's not exactly the easiest guy to get ahold of on the spur of the moment. We get through all of that with Tash lecturing us through yet more texts and Doc Jane promising dire retribution just to find the two of you turning this into some kind of date?"

"Well we haven't picked the date yet," Darcy replied, voice laced with an innocent sass, "but we've at least chosen the month. Anybody busy in May?"

"About damn time," Bucky muttered as he moved to take care of the bomb. Steve followed him and the dark haired spy gave him a speaking look. "Thought it was going to end up a shotgun affair." Steve just grinned.

Tony's voice broke in, but when they looked over at him, he wasn't paying them any attention. "Pep? We need to keep May clear," he was saying, voice distorted by the mask. "No, but Agent and Miss Stacked finally narrowed a month." He stopped and then spoke again. "Oh, and JARVIS, lock down the book. No more changes." There was a longer pause. "No, Pep, really…it was just a small bet. Yes…no…not really…okay…right, right…we'll talk tonight…you bet…no…bye Pep." He looked up at them. "Pepper says congratulations again, and I think I'm in trouble. Are we done here?"

"Shall I inform my lady Jane as well?" Thor smiled at them approvingly.

"Let me do that, big guy," Darcy patted his arm. "I need her to stand up with me, and I'll tell all the girls at the same time…well, except for Pepper."

"You might want to call Tash," Clint pointed out. "She hates being the last to know anything."

Phil raised an eyebrow at him and then turned to Tony. "Who is currently in the lead on this wager?"

"JARVIS?" Tony passed the question along. There came a small metallic huff. "It's down to Nat and Fury."

Clint shrugged. "Still-"

"I'll let her know," Darcy nodded, "but right now she needs to concentrate on her job. They're at a Knicks game."

"Nat doesn't seem to like basketball," Steve pointed out.

"All the more reason for her to finish quickly," Phil informed him.

Darcy held up a hand, stopping any further commentary. "Can we go now? I'm seriously tired of the inside of this vault. I want a shower, a change of clothes, and some damn good Italian."

Laughter followed her as Phil led her out of the area and the last thing she heard was Tony directing JARVIS to order a buffet of stuff from her favorite place down on Lexington. She turned a brilliant smile up to Phil.

"They're insane, but I wouldn't trade them."


	2. 9 - Calling Home

_Author's Notes – Well the Avengers know, so now Darcy has to make a phone call!_

Darcy paced her room considering the wedding. She wanted simple and intimate, so she could toss a lot of the complicated frou-frou out the window, but she did want her family there. That had meant talking to SHIELD and getting them to start the paperwork process. She suppressed a giggle as she remembered _that_ meeting. Fury twitched over the potential security risks while Maria carefully suppressed her amusement and agreed to have one of the baby agents get things in order.

Now she had a bigger job to tackle. It was time for her to call home. She usually spoke with her parents every couple of weeks as well as anyone else at the house, but there would be hell to pay if she waited any longer to give her this kind of news. With a quick tap of fingers she dialed the phone and waited for someone to answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mam!"

"Darcy!" Her mother's voice warmed immediately. "How are you, Baby Girl? Wasn't expecting to hear from you until next week sometime."

"Something's happened," Darcy replied, her own voice bright and cheerful. "I thought it would be a better idea to call you right away. I didn't want to get a lecture about sharing."

"I haven't lectured you on something like that since you were a little thing," Maire Lewis scolded. "Now, what's so important it can't wait until your usual call?"

"Do you remember me telling you about Phil?"

"Not going senile yet," Maire pointed out. "Of course I remember! You've only talked about him every other call. The first time you mentioned him I got to listen to a twenty minute rant on the man – something about idiot men, stolen iPods, and stupid risks with prototype weapons. I still think the iPod was him pulling your pigtails though."

"I think you were right," Darcy admitted.

Her mother's rich laughter spilled over. "Now there's a phrase I would have paid good money to hear once upon a time ago. So…tell Mama all about it. How did you figure it out?"

"He proposed." Silence fell so abruptly Darcy checked her phone to make sure she still had a signal. "Mam? Ma?"

"Are you telling me this fellow just up and proposed out of a clear sky one day?" Her mother's voice could not seem to decide which emotion to settle on. The one question moved from disbelief to suspicion to surprise.

"Um…" Darcy bit her lip. "Well, it wasn't really out of nowhere."

Maire cleared her throat. "Have you been keeping secrets from me, Baby Girl?"

"Maybe?" _Oh, if only she knew. _Never mind the Avengers, SHIELD, living in Stark mansion – this was no time to discuss how long she'd been engaged. If her mother found out she went longer than a week without telling her? _Oh boy._

"I'm going to be having a talk with you about that one of these days," her mother warned. She could hear something tapping on the other end of the line and a picture formed in her mind. Her mother always sat at the kitchen table to talk on the phone. When she needed to gather her thoughts, one finger would tap rapidly on the scarred, wooden surface. "I know you've said there are secrets with your work, and how you ended up in some kind of security I will never know, but-"

"We're co-workers," Darcy interrupted.

"Ah." Now she could see her mother nodding slowly as she took in the information. A sudden fierce longing hit Darcy – she missed her family. Maire sighed. "We've not pushed. As long as they're good secrets you're keeping, then we'll honor your wishes, but I would have liked to have met the fellow before it reached this point. Your Da and your uncles will want to meet him too, you know."

Darcy took a breath. "I know, Mam, and I'm sorry about that. We're usually pretty busy and our schedules don't always mash so well…at least not when it comes to time off." Her mind raced for a moment as she considered what she should mention to start laying some groundwork. A picture of Phil popped up in her mind's eye. "He's older than I am," she told her mother. "Old enough people talk, but not old enough to be creepy."

"People's tongues will wag no matter what," her mother sniffed. "Is he old enough to be your grandfather?"

"No!"

"Then it's not enough to be creepy," Maire pronounced. "He older than your Da?"

"No, though that's a little closer."

"As long as he's right for you, that's all right." The tapping noise picked up again. "You're too much the 'little mother' to put up with the younger fellows anyway. When is the wedding?"

Darcy repressed a wince even though her mother wasn't there to see her. "May."

"_This_ May?"

"Yes, Mam."

A long moment of silence passed by before her mother spoke again. "Is there something else you need to tell me?" Oh, she could almost see the demanding eyebrow arching over snapping green eyes.

"I'm not pregnant," she blurted out.

She heard a quick huff of air and then Maire asked, "So why the rush? May's only a few months away."

"Because Phil's being silly about 'right' times and I don't plan on a year-long engagement," she replied in a firm, steady voice.

"Got your mind made up, don't you?" The rhetorical question held a light concern, but even more pride. "When will we meet him?"

Darcy had been thinking about that. She did not want Phil's first meeting with her parents in the city. While she adored each and every one of their 'charges', she wasn't sure it would be a good idea to toss her family into the deep end and hope the figured out which was up. Not that she was sure which 'family' would be the most confused. Her Avenger family might be the heroes of the age, but the Lewis' came from unflappable Irish daredevil stock. If there was a mountain to climb, an ocean to dive, a desert to cross, or sky to fly, someone in her family had done it.

Come to think of it…that was probably why she handled the Avengers so well.

"Well?"

Her mother's question drew her attention once more. "I'm going to see what I can do about that," she promised. "Hopefully things will settle for a couple of days and we can fly out for a quick visit." Biting her bottom lip, she continued hesitantly, "And it will have to be a short one, Mam. The job's got a lot of perks, but…"

"With the good comes the bad," Maire sighed. "Long as you give me a couple of days' notice, I'll have the family here and ready. We'll do a Lewis baptism of fire." Another rolling laugh sounded down the line. "If he can handle that, then he'll have a good chance of handling you."

"Oh, he'll manage," Darcy told her confidently. "Phil's a rock."

"Really, now? That sounds promising."

"He's a lot like Uncle Carrig," she continued, her mind considering the solid and levelheaded man the whole family turned to during troubled times.

"I like him already," Maire replied. "If it goes more than skin deep, then I'll be the happiest mother-in-law he'll ever meet. That's exactly the sort of man you need, Baby Girl. Good thing, too, since he's the first boy you've brought home since you were fifteen." She paused. "I don't want to be pushy, but have you considered your dress as yet?"

"What's to consider?" Darcy asked. "You promised me Nana Grace's dress and that's the one I still want." She could still picture the dress with its beautiful overlay of hand-embroidered Irish lace. Every bride in the family had worn the dress since 1912, even some of those marrying into the clan. "I want to be married in that dress and your brooch."

"And a beautiful bride you will be, too," her mother told her softly. "I'll warn your father, shall I? Then I can fetch out the dress and let it air. We can do a fitting when you visit."

"It'll fit." Even Darcy could hear the hopeful anxiety in her voice.

"This is good home-made lace we're talking about," came the swift encouragement. "It was made to be adjusted for generations, not like that flimsy store-bought stuff."

"Thanks, Mam."

"Anytime, sweetheart. Now, tell me more about this fellow and what else you've decided for your wedding."

Darcy spent over an hour talking to her mother before she hung up the phone. Now, more than ever, the wedding felt real to her. It was time to really marshal her allies and advantages. Tomorrow she would call Pepper, Natasha, and Maria and invite them to lunch. She needed a plan and those three could strategize like nobody else except maybe Phil, and she'd turned over the majority of hero-herding to him until the wedding.

The wedding…a burst of laughter spilled over and out of her as she thought about it.

It had the potential to be one wild day - she and Phil getting married; the Avengers, SHIELD, Asgardians, and the Lewis clan together in one party!

Hopefully they left the city standing…


End file.
